Running notes, desperate cadences, and determined chords
Major
Minor
You have played me and I have played you.
Now I am transparent and clear,
Graciously allowing music to vibrate through my temple.
A loyal heart maintaining steady beat and dependable rhythm.
I am the backdrop to your adventurous freedom.
Sometimes your frivolous fingers take me to the dark edges of piano.
But always, I balance with freedom and light through higher octaves.
Together, we sway and dance to the melody and harmony of life.

How funny is it,
That we both observe the potential in everything?
Latent possibilities within and without,
Life is on steady standby.
Love steadily takes its course,
While those who wait outside watch with anticipation.
Yearning, hoping, lurking, groping.
Desperate desires to belong to each other.
Dire need to be a part of something.
We watch, we wait with patience.
We shed, we die with urgency.
Enormous energy builds in the waiting.
Hidden reserves of love in the midst.
What lies ahead in the sweet days to come?
The only knowing is the uncertainty that exists.

Sea Shells, by Shreya Mandal

Puzzled, you stood there and watched me.
As I traveled to distant shores, I brought home memories.
Washed away by the ebb and flow of life, pieces of earth returned.
36 sea shells for each time we bathed in the ocean of unknowing.
Swimming as mermaids do, I was in awe of your range.
You dove deep into the ocean bed.
You emerged with pelican wings.
Soaring in the Caribbean sky, you ascended to the powerful sun.
Puzzled, I stood there and watched you.
As you traveled to distant shores, you brought home memories.
Washed away by the ebb and flow of life, pieces of earth returned.
36 sea shells for each time we bathed in the ocean of unknowing

NEW YORK CITY ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAW RESENTENCINGS URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEER MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG TREATMENT PROFESSIONALS
September 15, 2009

* Volunteer Contact: Shreya Mandal, JD, LMSW, Mitigation Specialist, The Legal Aid Society *Phone: (212) 577-3664* E-mail: SJMandal@legal-aid.org

Approximately 700 people are expected to be re-sentenced under the most recent Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, allowing them to return to New York City. But first, much work must be done to ensure that former prisoners qualify for early release and comprehensive reentry planning. Public Defenders and private lawyers are responsible for filing timely re-sentencing petitions to the courts. We anticipate this process to start in early October.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The Need for Mitigation Assessment
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Change We Can Believe In: NY's Rockefeller Drug Law Reform is in Effect
By, Gabriel Sayegh, Drug Policy Alliance

This week, two essential components of Rockefeller Drug Law reform go into effect: restoration of judicial discretion and resentencing eligibility for some people currently incarcerated under the failed laws. The enactment of these hard-won reforms signals a major shift in New York's approach to drug abuse and dependency.

By restoring discretion, incarceration for drug offenses is no longer mandatory: judges once more have the ability to send individuals suffering from addiction into a range of programs, such as treatment and mental health services. In addition, nearly 1,500 people currently incarcerated under the old laws for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses can now petition the court for resentencing. If approved by a judge, many of these people will finally be released.
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